Atlantan Amiyah Scott brings trans issues to life on Fox’s ‘Star’

Amiyah Scott’s time on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” may have ended prematurely, but the transgender model has moved on to a higher-profile new show that’s also set in Atlanta – Oscar-nominee Lee Daniels’ new show “Star.” The show premieres Wednesday on Fox.

The new musical drama focuses on three young women working to become a successful girl group while navigating through the cutthroat world of the music business. Queen Latifah stars as their surrogate mom, Carlotta, while Scott plays Cotton, Carlotta’s daughter.

The “Empire” creator reveals, “My sister introduced me to her on Instagram and I started following her. And she didn’t follow me back. So I said, ‘You’re not following the original big daddy back?!’”

When he found out she was playing hard to get, he said, “That’s so Amiyah.”

Like Scott herself, Cotton is transgender. Based on an early review of the pilot, the show will touch on real-life issues faced by trans people. Via AJC:

In the first episode, her character gets beat up.

That scene, she said, “wasn’t fun. It was based on a real-life issue. Transviolence is very prevalent right now. It’s terrible. I think a light needs to be shined on things like that. It goes hand in hand with Black Lives Matter. We deserve better. We deserve respect.

The show will also address the struggle trans people can face in gaining acceptance from family and friends. Carlotta, a former musician who sings as part of her church’s choir, struggles with her acceptance of Cotton – a weighty issue that helped get Latifah on board, she told USA Today.

“The topic of someone who is transgender, we’ve heard a lot about it over the past couple years in the news, whether it’s Caitlyn (Jenner) or bathroom usage,” Latifah says. “We don’t want to answer all the questions for everyone, but we want to have the conversation, so that dialogue can be open and looked at in a more human, realistic way and not just some stereotypical, political way.”

Scott sees what Daniels is doing with Cotton’s storyline as showing audiences something they might not be used to seeing, in a way similar to how he explores gay issues through Jamal on “Empire.” Via New Now Next:

“What Lee is doing with my character, in particular, is shining a light on something that hasn’t been seen before. But it’s something that’s very prevalent in this day and age. Hopefully, it opens up a lot of people’s eyes.”

Atlantans may recognize Scott from a brief appearance on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” where she was set to be a recurring figure before she quit – or was dropped – in Season 8.